Rocky Mountain Voice

Tag: Federal Spending

Congress Braces for Partial Shutdown as Spending Fight Intensifies
Washington Examiner, Approved, National

Congress Braces for Partial Shutdown as Spending Fight Intensifies

By Emily Hallas | Washington Examiner Congress is careening toward the second government shutdown in four months due to disagreements over federal funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The shutdown Washington is preparing for this weekend has several key differences from the government funding battle last fall. That 43-day shutdown became the longest in U.S. history, ending in November 2025. It centered on Democrats’ concerns that legislation to keep the government open did not contain a provision to extend Obamacare subsidies. And before the shutdown was triggered on Oct. 1, it was widely expected due to the known deadline for renewing the expiring Obamacare subsidies. Unlike last fall’s controversy, the latest looming government shutdown w...
Trump Administration Reviews $88 Million in Pandemic Loans to Planned Parenthood
Breitbart, Approved, National

Trump Administration Reviews $88 Million in Pandemic Loans to Planned Parenthood

By Katherine Hamilton | Breitbart The Small Business Administration (SBA) is probing whether affiliates of abortion giant Planned Parenthood illegally received $88 million in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans during the COVID-19 pandemic. “At the height of the pandemic, affiliates of Planned Parenthood took $88 million in taxpayer dollars to fund their abortion-on-demand agenda—and the Biden administration made sure they got nearly every cent forgiven, even after the first Trump administration protested,” SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler told The Daily Signal.  “Six years later, the Trump SBA holds the same conviction: Planned Parenthood Federation of America was never eligible to receive a dime in pandemic-era relief from taxpayers,” she added.&...
White House Seeks Accounting of Federal Funds Sent to Colorado and Other Blue States
DENVER7, Approved, National

White House Seeks Accounting of Federal Funds Sent to Colorado and Other Blue States

By Tony Kovaleski | Denver7 The order comes a week after Trump said he intended to cut off federal funding that goes to states that are home to “sanctuary cities” that resist his immigration policies President Donald Trump's budget office this week ordered most government agencies to compile data on the federal money that is sent to 14 mostly Democratic-controlled states and the District of Columbia in what it describes as a tool to “reduce the improper and fraudulent use of those funds.” The order comes a week after Trump said he intended to cut off federal funding that goes to states that are home to “sanctuary cities” that resist his immigration policies. He said that would start Feb. 1 but hasn't unveiled further details. A memo to federal depart...
Why Congress keeps pressing NIH over bat research funding tied to CSU
Rocky Mountain Voice, National, Top Stories

Why Congress keeps pressing NIH over bat research funding tied to CSU

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice The scrutiny hasn’t faded because the funding didn’t stop at a single lab. NIH records show CSU’s bat research support extending into overseas field work in Bangladesh, where a separate NIH award to EcoHealth Alliance also played a role—a convergence that has kept lawmakers focused on how these projects are monitored and connected. Congress is demanding more transparency from the NIH over bat research grants tied to Colorado State University, asking, “How many millions of tax dollars is NIH giving to live bat research and why?” In a Jan. 12, 2026 letter to NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya, Sen. Joni Ernst and Rep. Paul Gosar called on the agency to cancel remaining funding tied to CSU bat research and to produce a full accounting of ...
FRAUD ALERT: Millions of People in Zero Premium Obamacare Plans May Have Never Signed Up
Just The News, Approved, National

FRAUD ALERT: Millions of People in Zero Premium Obamacare Plans May Have Never Signed Up

By Amanda Head | Just The News Obamacare abused by brokers to sign up millions for healthcare without their consent or knowledge. As a result, insurance companies reaped windfall profits, at the expense of taxpayers. In exchange for gift cards, millions of Americans were unwittingly signed up for Obamacare by brokers who scalped their vital information and enrolled them in plans where premiums were paid by the American people, a research group says.   "The government was sending massive checks to insurance companies who were making windfall profits on behalf of people who didn't use any health care," Brian Blase, president of Paragon Health Institute, a healthcare policy group told Just The News. A 2021-2022 expansion of Affordable Care Act subsidie...
NGOs And The Rise Of An Unelected Shadow Government
Defender of the Republic., Approved, Commentary, National

NGOs And The Rise Of An Unelected Shadow Government

By: Defender of the Republic | Defender of the Republic How Nonprofits Can Exacerbate Fraud, Launder Public Money and How Citizens Can Stop It. For years, Americans have been told that NGOs (Non-Governmental Organizations) are benevolent, independent charities doing work the government “can’t.” The truth is more complicated and more dangerous. Many NGOs today function as unelected extensions of government power, funded by taxpayer money, shielded from transparency, and largely immune from voter accountability. When abused, this structure can exacerbate fraud, enable money laundering, and distort public policy all while appearing charitable on paper. Now before you start questioning my reporting…isn’t about attacking char...
17 Republicans Break Ranks to Advance Jeffries Led Obamacare Extension
The Daily Signal, Approved, National

17 Republicans Break Ranks to Advance Jeffries Led Obamacare Extension

By George Caldwell | The Daily Signal The House of Representatives passed a three-year extension of COVID-19-era premium tax credits on Thursday, as a group of Republicans defied House leadership to back the Democrat-led measure. The extension passed by a 230-196 margin, with 17 Republicans joining 213 Democrats in voting for a policy which Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., and the majority of the House Republican conference has opposed for months. Five Republicans did not vote. A group of moderate Republicans joined Democrats to successfully control the floor and pass the legislation.  READ THE FULL ARTICLE AT THE DAILY SIGNAL
Veto Override Attempts Collapse as Most Republicans Side With Trump
National, Approved

Veto Override Attempts Collapse as Most Republicans Side With Trump

By Emily Brooks and Sudiksha Kochi | The Hill The House on Thursday failed to override President Trump’s vetoes of two previously uncontroversial bills concerning a Colorado water project and expanding lands of a tribe in Florida. The move showcases House Republicans’ loyalty to the president and support for his political battles, as the vetoes had been seen as instances of Trump acting on political grudges. A vote to override Trump’s veto on a Colorado water project — a bill spearheaded by Trump ally Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) — failed 248-177-1, with 35 Republicans voting with Democrats to override the veto and one Republican, Rep. Nancy Mace (S.C.), voting present. A vote to override Trump’s veto on expanding lands for th...
Mark Baisley Launches U.S. Senate Bid, Shifts Focus From Statehouse to Washington
Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

Mark Baisley Launches U.S. Senate Bid, Shifts Focus From Statehouse to Washington

By Shaina Cole | Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice Colorado State Senator Mark Baisley has entered the race for U.S. Senate, ending his bid for governor and refocusing his campaign on federal policy decisions he says are driving affordability pressures and limiting Colorado’s ability to chart its own course. Baisley described the shift as a move from state-level problem solving to addressing issues he believes now originate in Washington. “I’m moving from being a state senator to a bigger stage in the United States Senate,” he said. He said his earlier campaign sharpened his view of where decisions affecting daily life are increasingly being made — and where he believes Colorado needs stronger representation. Cost of Living and Affordability ...
Federal freeze targets childcare money in Colorado and four other states
Axios, Approved, National

Federal freeze targets childcare money in Colorado and four other states

By Emily Peck | Axios The Trump administration says it is freezing $10 billion in funds for child care and poor families in five blue states, the Office of Management and Budget confirmed to Axios Monday. Why it matters: The White House is pointing to reports of social services fraud in Minnesota to threaten funding for child care around the country. Child care providers are bracing for a slowdown in funds and the possibility of cuts that threaten their ability to operate. That could create wider issues, as millions of parents rely on child care to get to their jobs. Where it stands: Funds are being suspended for California, Colorado, Illinois, Minnesota and New York, according to the New York Post, which earlier reported the news. The h...